Son of Avonar: Bridge of D'Arnath, Book 1

Magic is forbidden throughout the Four Realms. For decades, sorcerers and those associating with them were hunted to near extinction.But Seri, a Leiran noblewoman living in exile, is no stranger to defying the unjust laws of her land. She is sheltering a wanted fugitive who possesses unusual abilities-a fugitive with the fate of the realms in his hands...

Dust and Light: Sanctuary, Book 1

How much must one pay for an hour of youthful folly? The Pureblood Registry accused Lucian de Remeni-Masson of "unseemly involvement with ordinaries", which meant only that he spoke with a young woman not of his own kind, allowed her to see his face unmasked, worked a bit of magic for her.... After that one mistake, Lucian’s grandsire excised half his magic and savage Harrowers massacred his family.

Flesh and Spirit: Lighthouse, Book 1

The rebellious son of a long line of pureblood cartographers and diviners, Valen has spent most of his life trying to escape what society - and his family - have ordained for him. His own mother has predicted that he will meet his doom in water, blood, and ice. Her divination seems fulfilled when a comrade abandons Valen in a rainy wilderness half-dead, addicted to an enchantment that converts pain to pleasure, and possessing only a stolen book of maps.

Song of the Beast

Brutal imprisonment has broken Aidan McAllister. His music is destroyed, and with it the visions he once gave a kingdom ravaged by dragon war. Now, he risks his hard-bought freedom to uncover the truth behind his incarceration - and to meet his enemy face-to-face....

Into the Rain: Phantasia, Book 1

After finding the body of a dragon in a metallic desert, Red finds out that he is the reincarnation of a messiah worshipped by an insectoid alien race bent on invading his star system. Swept into a dangerous adventure across glacial swamps, cloud cities, and dead stars - Red must evade his true purpose in the world, to summon a forsaken deity trapped in another realm.

Servant: The Dark God, Book 1

A spirited blacksmith's daughter accused of using the dark and terrifying sleth magic. The young man who hunts her. And the ferocious monster who wants only to be free. Trapped in a web of lies and ancient secrets, of right becoming wrong, the three must struggle not only against each other but also against a being of irresistible power, a creature who is gathering her servants to usher in the impending human harvest. If the three succeed, they will save those they love the most. If they fail, the clans of the land fall with them.

Child of the Daystar

Among the scattered fringe cities bordering the Cienbal desert, the true name of the Monster of Karth is spoken only in whispers...RAZ I'SYUL ARRO. A sellsword of the utmost caliber, Raz is a killer of paramount skill and highest regard. Towering tall even amongst the atherian, he is the only of his kind to live free in the "civilized" confines of mankind's varied cultures. He has no need of loyalties, his sole affections pledged to the gold crowns that buy his time and skills.

Freedom's Landing: Freedom Series, Book 1

It's the dawning of a new age for mankind when the Catteni descend to Earth and easily overcome the Earth's population. Thousands are herded onto slave ships headed for the intergalactic auction block. Kris Bjornsen is captured in Denver on her way to her college classes and wakes up on the primitive planet Barevi.

Cephrael's Hand: A Pattern of Shadow and Light, Book 1

In Alorin...300 years after the genocidal Adept Wars, the realm is dying, and the blessed Adept race dies with it. One man holds the secret to reverting this decline: Bjorn van Gelderan, a dangerous and enigmatic man whose shocking betrayal three centuries past earned him a traitor's brand. It is the Adept Vestal Raine D'Lacourte's mission to learn what Bjorn knows in the hope of salvaging his race. But first he'll have to find him....

The Immortal Crown: Saga of Kings, Book One

A thousand years ago, the Navigator crossed the great deep in ships lit with 16 stones touched by Oum'ilah, the God of Gods. Over time the stones were scattered, and a prophecy arose declaring that a "child of no man" would gather them again, obtain immortality, and reign forever as god and king of Candelarr. Two religious groups have sprung up around the prophecy, each with its own champion.

The Way into Chaos: The Great Way, Book 1

The city of Peradain is the heart of an empire built with steel, spears, and a monopoly on magic...until in a single day it falls, overthrown by a swarm of supernatural creatures of incredible power and ferocity. Neither soldier nor spell caster can stand against them. The empire's armies are crushed, its people scattered, its king and queen killed. Freed for the first time in generations, city-states scramble to seize neighboring territories and capture imperial spell casters.

The Spirit Lens: A Novel of the Collegia Magica

For Portier de Savin-Duplais, failed student of magic, sorcery's decline into ambiguity and cheap illusion is but a culmination of life's bitter disappointments. Reduced to tending the library at Sabria's last collegia magica, he fights off despair with scholarship. But when the king of Sabria charges him to investigate an attempted murder that has disturbing magical resonances, Portier believes his dreams of a greater destiny might at last be fulfilled.

The Bionics: The Bionics Novels, Book 1

All Blythe Sol ever wanted was to be a normal girl. Yet, her dreams of following in her father's footsteps by joining the military after graduation are crushed when nuclear war comes to the United States in the year 4006. Tens of thousands are killed in a series of attacks on many major cities, while thousands more are left injured from the devastation of the blasts, or terminally ill from the effects of radiation.

The Dragon Lords: Fool's Gold

It's not easy to live in a world ruled by dragons. The taxes are high, and their control is complete. But for one group of bold misfits, it's time to band together and steal back some of that wealth. No one said they were smart.

Free the Darkness: King's Dark Tidings, Book 1

Raised and trained in seclusion at a secret fortress on the edge of the northern wilds of the Kingdom of Ashai, a young warrior called Rezkin is unexpectedly thrust into the outworld when a terrible battle destroys all that he knows. With no understanding of his life’s purpose and armed with masterful weapons mysteriously bestowed upon him by a dead king, Rezkin must travel across Ashai to find the one man who may hold the clues to his very existence.

Curse: The Dark God, Book 2

Argoth and Shim have only a short season before Mokad comes to annihilate them. If they're going to survive, they will need to raise an army of dreadmen and fell-maidens and train them in the lore. Argoth sends out a call to Groves throughout the western lands and begins to train Talen, Sugar, and 30 others. But Mokad isn't waiting. Mokad has already sent an armada with armies from four glorydoms. It has also sent its Guardian - a terrifying Divine everyone thinks is a sleth ally, coming with an invitation from Argoth himself to join Shim's men.

Paths of Alir: A Pattern of Shadow and Light, Book 3

Powerful beings from the fringes of Chaos have come to the realm of Alorin. Fate bends to their will, and their will is set upon Alorin's destruction. Alone in understanding the threat they pose, Alorin's Fifth Vestal, Björn val Gelderan, has launched a desperate plan to stop them: a "great game" played upon the tapestry of mortal life. Now, in Paths of Alir, Björn's Players have taken the field.

Excelsior

The year is AD 2790. With space elevators and giant orbital fleets hovering over Earth, open war looks inevitable, and people are anxious to get away. The lines are drawn, with the Confederacy in the East and the First World Alliance in the West. In hopes of finding a refuge from the looming war, the Alliance is sending Captain Alexander de Leon to explore an Earth-type planet, code-named Wonderland, but at the last minute before launch, a Confederate fleet leaves orbit on a trajectory that threatens both the mission and Alliance sovereignty.

Wytchfire: The Dragonkin Trilogy, Book 1

In a land haunted by the legacy of dead dragons, Rowen Locke has been many things: orphan, gravedigger, mercenary. All he ever wanted was to become a Knight of Crane and wield a kingsteel sword against the kind of grown horrors his childhood knows all too well. But that dream crumbled - replaced by a new nightmare. War is overrunning the realms, an unprecedented duel of desire and revenge, steel and sorcery. And for one disgraced man who would be a knight, in a world where no one is blameless, the time has come to decide which side he's on.

A Warrior's Path: The Castes and the OutCastes Book 1

Sweeping from the majestic city of Ashoka to the perilous Wildness beyond her borders, enter a world where Caste determines mystical Talents, the purity of Jivatma expresses worth, and dharma may be based on a lie.Rukh Shektan has always understood duty. As a member of Caste Kumma, the warrior Caste, nothing else is acceptable. He is expected to take part in the deadly Trials, to journey the Wildness and protect the caravans linking Humanity's far-flung cities. Though the mission is dangerous, Rukh's hope and optimism are undaunted. Karma, however, is a fickle fiend.

Akiri: The Scepter of Xarbaal

Akiri is a blistering new heroic fantasy novel from the multiple award-winning international best sellers Brian D. Anderson and Steven Savile who have come together to create the first adrenalin-filled standalone novel in Akiri's tortured world. Can one betrayal can save a kingdom? Will two destroy it?

Pseudo-Dragon: The Blue Dragon's Geas, Book 4

When young Alador has mystical powers placed upon him, he sets off on an extraordinary quest to become a true pseudo-dragon, facing unspeakable danger from an ancient beast lurking in the shadows. As part of his journey, Alador secretly helps the Daezun people without their knowledge and comes to rely on assistance from Rena, a young blue female dragon who is falling in love with him against her father's wishes.

Den of Wolves: Blackthorn & Grim, Book 3

Healer Blackthorn knows all too well the rules of her bond to the fey: seek no vengeance, help any who ask, do only good. But after the recent ordeal she and her companion, Grim, have suffered, she knows she cannot let go of her quest to bring justice to the man who ruined her life.

Publisher's Summary

Seyonne is a man waiting to die. He has been a slave for 16 years, almost half his life, and has lost everything of meaning to him: his dignity, the people and homeland he loves, and the Warden's power he used to defend an unsuspecting world from the ravages of demons. Seyonne has made peace with his fate. With strict self-discipline he forces himself to exist only in the present moment and to avoid the pain of hope or caring about anyone. But from the moment he is sold to the arrogant, careless Prince Aleksander, the heir to the Derzhi Empire, Seyonne's uneasy peace begins to crumble. And when he discovers a demon lurking in the Derzhi court, he must find hope and strength in a most unlikely place....

I love finding books by authors I have not previously read that come highly recommended and still manage to blow me a way. This one hits on all accounts. I cannot believe that I had not heard of Carol Berg before. I won't give anything of the plot away, but writing is excellent, it is long, but not over done or slow in places. And the story drags you in right from the beginning, I could not stop listening. I highly recommend it.

This story unfolds, folds back, circles, returns, and surprises. At times, it seems to drag as the protagonist suffers interminably in so many different ways. However, as we learn who he is and what he has done, we appreciate the weaving. The reading is good, but not great. The story bogs down here and there, but is still very engaging and entertaining.

Carol Berg has written one of the best novels I have had the pleasure to read in 2015. The selected narrator added just the right touch. Two thumbs up for him and five for Carol Berg. Everyone who enjoys reading must read.

I absolutely LOVED this book.It might be my favorite book ever. I could barely bring myself to stop listening even though I wanted to spread it out and make it last for as long as possible. The writing is excellent and evocative, the characters multi-dimensional and so enjoyable, and the story held my attention from beginning to end!

I feel as if someone looked into my mind, found all the kinds of things I love, and put them into this book. If you like the hurt/comfort genre, if you like whump, if you like stories about deep and unexpected friendships, peril, angst, and characters you can't help falling in love with, then I am sure you will adore this book as much as I did.